Friday, January 10
West Lafayette, Ind.
6 p.m. CT
Northwestern
at
Purdue
Photo by: Ryan Kuttler/Northwestern Athletics
Wrestling Opens B1G Action with Road Swing at Purdue and Illinois
1/9/2025 3:28:00 PM | Wrestling
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern wrestling will begin their conference season on the road this weekend, making trips to West Lafayette and Champaign to open their eight-dual Big Ten schedule. On Friday, the 'Cats (2-1, 0-0 B1G) will meet Purdue (6-1, 0-0 B1G) at 6 p.m. CT. They will then continue the weekend road swing on Sunday at 1 p.m., when they take on Illinois (6-0, 1-0 B1G). Both matches will be streamed on B1G+.
LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats wrapped up their tournament schedule ahead of the new year at the 60th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. Northwestern placed five wrestlers on the podium at the event, including Maxx Mayfield, who earned a runner-up finish at 165 lbs. Evan Bates also continued an impressive start to the season with a third-place finish at 197 lbs. His two pins on the second day of Midlands action brought him to four on the season at the conclusion of the non-conference schedule.
Also on the podium for the 'Cats was Sam Cartella (149 lbs), who finished fifth for his second-straight Midlands podium, Dedrick Navarro (125 lbs), who made a consolation run back to seventh place, and Massey Odiotti (133 lbs), who podiumed at Midlands for the first time.
A BATTLE WITH THE BOILERMAKERS
Northwestern will face off with Purdue for the 31st time since 1990, with the Boilermakers holding an 18-12 edge in the all-time series. The Boilermakers got the best of the 'Cats last season in Evanston, but the last time Northwestern visited West Lafayette, they departed with a 30-12 victory. Trevor Chumbley (157 lbs), Chris Cannon (141), Mayfield (165 lbs) and Bates, who wrestled at 184 lbs, all contributed individual wins in the team victory.
Purdue enters this weekend's matchup with a 6-1 record in dual action so far this season. The Boilermakers picked up wins over Gardner-Webb (Nov. 1), Buffalo (Nov. 17), Princeton (Nov. 23), Chattanooga (Nov. 23), Cleveland State (Dec. 18) and Kent State (Jan. 3) during their non-conference slate, with their only loss coming on criteria at the hands of Army, on Nov. 17. Purdue placed seven wrestlers in InterMat's Top-25 in the most recent poll, headlined by No. 1 Matt Ramos at 125 lbs.
FIGHTING THE ILLINI
Winners of two of their last three meetings with Illinois, the Wildcats hold a 10-24-1 all-time record against their in-state rivals. The Illini pulled off a victory on criteria last season in Welsh-Ryan Arena, but the 'Cats came out on top of both of the two duals before that - one at home in 2023, and one on their last trip to Urbana-Champaign in 2022.
After putting together an unblemished 6-0 record in dual action in November and December, the Illini enter the weekend ranked No. 11 in the NWCA Coaches Poll. Illinois earned its spot in the Top-25 with a sequence of four ranked victories to close out the 2024 calendar year, knocking off No. 21 Arizona State (Nov. 9), No. 6 Missouri (Nov. 21), No. 23 North Carolina (Nov. 25) and No. 28 Indiana (Dec. 6). InterMat featured nine of Illinois' ten probable wrestlers this weekend in their most recent poll, including three in the top ten.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
Northwestern:
125: Dedrick Navarro
133: Massey Odiotti
141: No. 10 Chris Cannon OR Giosue Hickman
149: Sam Cartella
157: No. 11 Trevor Chumbley OR Jacob Bostelman
165: No. 19 Maxx Mayfield
174: Joseph Martin OR Aiden Vandenbush
184: Jon Halvorsen
197: No. 13 Evan Bates
285: Dirk Morley
Purdue:
125 - #1 Matt Ramos
133 - Dustin Norris
141 - #33 Greyson Clark
149 - Isaac Ruble
157 - Kade Law / #7 Joey Blaze
165 - #33 Stoney Buell
174 - #26 Brody Baumann
184 - Orlando Cruz / #20 James Rowley
197 - #30 Ben Vanadia
285 - Hayden Filipovich
#11 Illinois:
125: Caelan Riley
133: #2 Lucas Byrd
141: #13 Danny Pucino
149: #11 Kannon Webster
157: #27 Jason Kraisser
165: #10 Braeden Scoles
174: #21 Danny Braunagel
184: #10 Edmond Ruth
197: #11 Zac Braunagel
285: #11 Luke Luffman
* All individual rankings courtesy of InterMat (January 7)
UP NEXT
Following the weekend road trip, Northwestern will return home for their conference home opener on Friday, Jan. 17, against Michigan. First whistle from Welsh-Ryan Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on B1G+.
LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats wrapped up their tournament schedule ahead of the new year at the 60th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. Northwestern placed five wrestlers on the podium at the event, including Maxx Mayfield, who earned a runner-up finish at 165 lbs. Evan Bates also continued an impressive start to the season with a third-place finish at 197 lbs. His two pins on the second day of Midlands action brought him to four on the season at the conclusion of the non-conference schedule.
Also on the podium for the 'Cats was Sam Cartella (149 lbs), who finished fifth for his second-straight Midlands podium, Dedrick Navarro (125 lbs), who made a consolation run back to seventh place, and Massey Odiotti (133 lbs), who podiumed at Midlands for the first time.
A BATTLE WITH THE BOILERMAKERS
Northwestern will face off with Purdue for the 31st time since 1990, with the Boilermakers holding an 18-12 edge in the all-time series. The Boilermakers got the best of the 'Cats last season in Evanston, but the last time Northwestern visited West Lafayette, they departed with a 30-12 victory. Trevor Chumbley (157 lbs), Chris Cannon (141), Mayfield (165 lbs) and Bates, who wrestled at 184 lbs, all contributed individual wins in the team victory.
Purdue enters this weekend's matchup with a 6-1 record in dual action so far this season. The Boilermakers picked up wins over Gardner-Webb (Nov. 1), Buffalo (Nov. 17), Princeton (Nov. 23), Chattanooga (Nov. 23), Cleveland State (Dec. 18) and Kent State (Jan. 3) during their non-conference slate, with their only loss coming on criteria at the hands of Army, on Nov. 17. Purdue placed seven wrestlers in InterMat's Top-25 in the most recent poll, headlined by No. 1 Matt Ramos at 125 lbs.
FIGHTING THE ILLINI
Winners of two of their last three meetings with Illinois, the Wildcats hold a 10-24-1 all-time record against their in-state rivals. The Illini pulled off a victory on criteria last season in Welsh-Ryan Arena, but the 'Cats came out on top of both of the two duals before that - one at home in 2023, and one on their last trip to Urbana-Champaign in 2022.
After putting together an unblemished 6-0 record in dual action in November and December, the Illini enter the weekend ranked No. 11 in the NWCA Coaches Poll. Illinois earned its spot in the Top-25 with a sequence of four ranked victories to close out the 2024 calendar year, knocking off No. 21 Arizona State (Nov. 9), No. 6 Missouri (Nov. 21), No. 23 North Carolina (Nov. 25) and No. 28 Indiana (Dec. 6). InterMat featured nine of Illinois' ten probable wrestlers this weekend in their most recent poll, including three in the top ten.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
Northwestern:
125: Dedrick Navarro
133: Massey Odiotti
141: No. 10 Chris Cannon OR Giosue Hickman
149: Sam Cartella
157: No. 11 Trevor Chumbley OR Jacob Bostelman
165: No. 19 Maxx Mayfield
174: Joseph Martin OR Aiden Vandenbush
184: Jon Halvorsen
197: No. 13 Evan Bates
285: Dirk Morley
Purdue:
125 - #1 Matt Ramos
133 - Dustin Norris
141 - #33 Greyson Clark
149 - Isaac Ruble
157 - Kade Law / #7 Joey Blaze
165 - #33 Stoney Buell
174 - #26 Brody Baumann
184 - Orlando Cruz / #20 James Rowley
197 - #30 Ben Vanadia
285 - Hayden Filipovich
#11 Illinois:
125: Caelan Riley
133: #2 Lucas Byrd
141: #13 Danny Pucino
149: #11 Kannon Webster
157: #27 Jason Kraisser
165: #10 Braeden Scoles
174: #21 Danny Braunagel
184: #10 Edmond Ruth
197: #11 Zac Braunagel
285: #11 Luke Luffman
* All individual rankings courtesy of InterMat (January 7)
UP NEXT
Following the weekend road trip, Northwestern will return home for their conference home opener on Friday, Jan. 17, against Michigan. First whistle from Welsh-Ryan Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on B1G+.
Players Mentioned
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
Wrestling - 'Cats Take Down Wisconsin, 27-11, on Senior Night (2/14/25)
Saturday, February 15
Wrestling - Seven 'Cats Claim Victory in 27-12 Win Over Michigan State (2/8/25)
Saturday, February 08
Wrestling - 'Cats Tame Mustangs, Take Down Cal Poly 29-14 (12/19/24)
Friday, December 20
Michael DeAugustino and Yahya Thomas Join 'Big Ten Wrestling & Beyond' (2/20/23)
Tuesday, February 21
